


Saga of the Goddesses

by Ellenar_Ride



Series: External Links [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Compatible with Mending Links, Gen, Insistent Terminology, Mythology of Hyrule, lots and lots of headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22118188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellenar_Ride/pseuds/Ellenar_Ride
Summary: 'Before time began, when Chaos reigned over all, the Divine Three descended from the Distant Nebula, bringing Order to the realm.'(Or: A collection of mythology/history for Hyrule and the Hero.)
Series: External Links [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592038
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Introduction

I have found, in my time, that it is best to begin a volume such as this in much the same way as a conversation, and thus I must say to you: greetings! To those of you who are familiar with my work, welcome back; to those who are new, it is a delight to make your acquaintance—I hope to make you at home here in this world of my words.

Ah, but I ought to put an end to my abstract opening and tell you instead what this book is about. To put it simply, this volume is a history of the Golden Goddesses, Their Champions, and the world They created. It may also, however, be summed up as a passion project brought about by my adoration of the Hero, Farore's Champion and the incarnation of Courage; though it includes the creation and the time before the Hero, and touches briefly on alternate possibilities wherein the Hero was never created, these are only short and—in places—supposition.

The primary focus of this work is the Hero—though the same could be said, I believe, of any major chronicle of Hyrule's history, as the Hero is such an integral part of the tale of our land that any recounting of it must, by nature, include him in some manner.

Now, this volume is separated, as you may have noticed, into five parts: the Early Ages, the Downfall Timeline, the Adult Era, the Child Era, and the Reunited Timeline. This is thanks to the events surrounding two specific incarnations of the Hero. The splintering of the timeline revolves around the Child Hero, and the existence of a very specific artifact created by Nayru and granted to Her Champion the Princess Zelda (the incarnation of Wisdom and one of the Hero's counterparts), known as the Ocarina of Time. At this instant, the timeline was split into three—each of the middle segments of this book describes the events of one of these timelines, while the first recounts the time before this separation. The reunification of the timeline revolves around the Hero of Ages, as his quest involved a plot that wove together elements of all three branches of the timeline, pulling it back together into a singular whole.

In truth, to be a _complete_ recollection, there ought to be a section recounting the history of our sister timeline where the First Hero, Hylia's mortal partner, chose to surrender to his mortality (for what reason is unknown) and declined Her offer to let him save his land when no other would step up to do so. In this timeline, there is no cycle of reincarnation like the one we see here with Courage, Wisdom, and Power; each Champion is chosen, lives out a singular mortal life, and dies, never to walk this world again. Hylia remains a divinity, fighting for the Light and encouraging those mortals whose faith falters. But in truth, my knowledge of this world is minimal, only the barest scraps revealed to my mind, and as such I must leave this timeline unrecorded here in our own for the time being.

This volume is a compilation of data from quite a number of sources, not the least notable of which being the personal journals of various heroes, but also of mythology, religious texts, historical records, and bits and pieces told to me by the Princess Zelda, the current incarnation of wisdom and the Champion of Nayru, from one scholar to another. And though I have written most of this volume in my own words, whith the exception of excerpts pulled directly from my sources (typically the Heroes' journals), I have referenced these sources throughout the text.

With this note, I must bid you good-bye and allow this introduction to draw to a close.

Sincerely,

Link

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, I finally decided to start posting the parts I have of this monster. This story will absolutely take _forever_ , and I probably won't update very often - it's the culmination of all of my headcanons for this entire universe woven into a narrative of _the entire series of games_. Every time I turn around, I'm adding chapter ideas or reworking the timeline, and the current estimate is 103 chapters.
> 
> Just to clarify, this chapter is a foreword that Scribe wrote to the book he also wrote. It's not just a glorified author's note from me. (I mean I guess it is, in a meta way, but you know what I mean.)


	2. The Creation of the World and the Descent into Darkness

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter I: The Creation of the World and the Descent into Darkness

Before time began, when Chaos reigned over all, the Divine Three descended from the Distant Nebula, bringing Order to the realm. Din, with her great and awful might, pulled dry land from the seas and crafted the whole into three large landmasses connected by thin, spidery pathways; the landmasses She called Hyrule, Labrynna, and Holodrum, and the small lands She called the Paths.

And Nayru poured Her wisdom and sense into the earth that Din had made, imbuing it with Her wild and creating the Law. And Farore, She of the kind and gentle soul, formed all people and beasts and plants that would cover the land and fill the seas to follow the Law that Nayru had made. And Order had come, and the world of Hyrule was born. And before the eyes of the Golden Goddesses, all was well.

But the Three were not of Hyrule, and Their well-loved land was not Their home, and Their hearts yearned for the Distant Nebula from whence They hailed. And so the Three made a new Goddess of Hyrule: from Din was given a flame, the first flame of Hyrule from which all other flames are lit, for a spirit that would never surrender or die out; from Nayru the Goddess received the oldest and darkest of Hyrule's waters, for a mind as patient and calm as the deepest seas; and as Farore's contribution to Their newest creation She brought winds gathered as volunteers from the highest of mountain-peaks, for a nature untameable and unbreakable. And for Their creation's body, They took of the earth—of the eldest earth, the first earth of each region that Din had raised—and shaped it after Their own image.

And each of the Three took Their gift and infused it into Her form, and together They breathed life into Her. And they called Her name Hylia, for She was of Hyrule, and They bid Her watch over the land. And Hylia was happy, for She was of Hyrule and Her heart was content. And when all was once again well in the eyes of the Golden Goddesses, They succumbed to the pull of Their hearts, and left the land of Hyrule to return to the Distant Nebula from whence They hailed.

But the Three were not cruel; They appointed four Light Spirits—Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru—to watch over and advise Hylia in Their absence. And They left an artifact in Hylia's possession in the form of three golden triangles, aligned as to create a larger triangle with an empty, reversed triangle in the center, to represent the Golden Goddesses and Hylia in turn, the Sacred Pyramid, that which would come to be called the Triforce, as a way for Hylia to call for aid in the direst of circumstances, and to keep some aspect of Her divine Mothers with her.

As the Divine Three left the land of Hyrule to return to the Distant Nebula from whence They hailed, sadness entered young Hylia's heart for the first time, as She found Herself alone and missing Her divine Mothers. But She was of Hyrule, and She turned Her thoughts to Her homeland, and to Her humans, and in time the ache of Her heart subsided.

But peaceful bliss did not last forever; it _could_ not last foreverm as Hylia's beloved humans were imperfect. And in time, humanity's darkness and greed grew and consumed them, and their gaze turned to Hylia's golden gift. And Hylia, in Her innocence and purity, could not comprehend the depths of their corruption, and She did not see the signs of their betrayal. And so She was not prepared to protect Her gift when the first one attacked Her and sought to take it from Her, and he held the triangle that represented Din in his hands before she claimed it back from him and cast him from Her presence.

Shaken but whole, Hylia carried on Her life as She had before, unaware that the man had made a wish in his heart of hearts when he had held the triangle of Din in his hands. And the man's wish brought him power, but his outer form warped to match his dark and twisted heart, and the first demon was born. And as the balance of Light and Dark shifted, the Dark Spirit—a creature with power equal to the four Light Spirits—sundered the earth and crawled out of the dark places from whence he hailed, and gathered those demons that had been formed to himself, and twisted and tempted even more of Hylia's beloved humans into darkness. And this was the beginning of the Dark, the earliest signs of the war that would come to be known as the Ancient Battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say these chapters would probably be short? Because most of them are pretty short. This entire piece is arranged by topic—each chapter is one subject, and it's exactly as long as what I have to say about that subject. I will say this chapter is a bit shorter than most, though, because there just isn't all that much to say about the creation of Hyrule.


	3. The Dark Spirit

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter II: The Dark Spirit

In the early days of the land of Hyrule, when the world was young and Hylia younger, when the Golden Goddesses left the land of Hyrule to return to the Distant Nebula from whence They hailed, They appointed the four Light Spirits—Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru—to guide and advise young Hylia. But there must be balance in all things, and this matter is no different.

As the Golden Goddesses appointed four beings with great power over Light, so too They were required to appoint four beings with equal power over Darkness. These four were the Dark Spirits—Mekra, Juheki, Nirakrai, and Almi—and they were violent, malicious beings. The Golden Goddesses, when They appointed these Spirits, sealed them away below the ground, giving them no targets save for each other.

But this plan did not play out in the manner intended by the Golden Goddesses. With no outlet for their aggression, the four Spirits turned on each other, and rivers of blood were spilled below the ground.

The eldest of the Dark Spirits, Mekra, who was Ordona’s counterpart, he who would come to be called Demise, tracked his younger brothers through the darkness beneath the earth for decades, unrelenting.

And when he caught his brothers, he slaughtered them without mercy, stealing their powers for his own. Nirakrai he killed first, pursuing him from the bitter colds of the northern mountains to the burning heat of the deserts in the south, and it was Nirakrai’s blood that stained the desert rock red.

Juheki and Almi evaded Mekra’s bloodlust for nearly a century, banding together in their flight from their maddened eldest brother, but their truce was shaky from the outset and shattered when Juheki attempted to use Almi as a distraction to aid in his own escape.

With the protection of their truce no longer in their favor, Juheki was soon captured by Mekra, and it was his blood that poisoned the waters of the ancient cistern, pooling into great lakes and rivers in the caverns below.

For nearly two decades more, Almi escaped capture by the width of a thread, but his luck did not last and he was soon caught by his eldest brother. No—one yet alive knows quite what was done to young Almi, the calmest and least vicious of the brothers, but to this day the echoes of his tormented screams may be heard on the wind at the cliffs of Mapla Point.

And Mekra, with all of his brothers dead and their powers claimed for his own, with no targets left for his fury, raged fruitlessly and worked himself into exhaustion, and fell into a deep slumber, in which he passed nearly two thousand years. But then one day a new beacon of darkness flickered into existence, stirring Mekra from his sleep, and bringing to his awareness a new world: the Surface.

And he sundered the earth, for now he knew that the shell above his head was not all there was to the world, and he crawled from the dark places he had called home, and he gathered these dark creatures to himself, and he learned.

And from them he learned words and tales and histories, and one such new word resonated with his truest self such that he claimed it for his own, and from that day forward the Dark Spirit Mekra called his name the Demon King Demise.


	4. Hylia's Travels and the Great Bird

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter III: Hylia's Travels and the Great Bird

Now in this time of darkness, Hylia bid Her Light Spirits fight against the Dark Spirit, but he was strong and the Light Spirits grew weary. And young Hylia knew, then, that the darkness would grow, and that She would have need to fight it Herself someday soon if Her beloved humans were to survive. And so Hylia called upon Ordona, the greatest and strongest of the Light Spirits, to guard Her gift, and She descended from Her home in the mountain-peaks, where her spirit was most at rest, and She sought out the most talented metalworker amongst Her humans and She begged of him to teach Her his arts.

For many months Hylia remained in the metalworker's home as his student, and finally She crafted a beautiful sword, gleaming silver in the light. And She bound the sword to Her with a crimson stone formed of Her own divine blood. But the young Goddess was not wholly satisfied, for She was a companionable creature and She did not desire to fight alone. So She devoted Her time to the crafting of a second blade, as pure as the first, and left it unbound so as to claim its own Master, and set it to wait for its wielder, the one who would fight at Hylia's side. And Hylia blessed the metalworker with Her favor, and took Her leave of him, and traveled Her lands once more in search of the most talented master of the sword, and She begged of him to teach Her his arts. For many years, Hylia walked with him, travelling alongside him in his wanderings, and studying the arts that he had to teach Her.

And when finally She had learned all that the master of the sword had to teach Her, She blessed him with Her favor, and took Her leave of him, and returned to Her home in the mountain-peaks, for Her spirit was unsettled and She sought the peace that Her home offered Her. But for all that Her home settled Her spirit, Her desire for companionship had been roused by Her time amongst Her people, and She grew lonely in Her solitude. And young Hylia turned Her gaze towards the weapons that She had crafted with Her own hands, and She called them Her companions, as they had been for years.

And She took into Her hands Her sword that She had bound with Her own divine blood and had wielded with Her hands as She learned how to fight with a blade, and She breathed life into him, and She called his name Oneghi, the son of fire. And She took into Her hands the sword that She had crafted for Her partner and defended whilst She awaited his arrival, and She breathed life into her, and She called her name Ashefi, the daughter of light. And young Hylia remained in Her home in the mountain-peaks, and taught and raised Her young children, and She cared for them greatly.

But one day, Hylia's peaceful life was shattered, as the reach of darkness extended even to Her home. And Hylia took up Oneghi's blade, and fastened Ashefi's to Her back, and set out from Her home amongst the mountain-peaks to combat the darkness. For three years, Hylia and Her children fought back the servants of the Dark Spirit, whose name was called Demise and whom had called his title 'Demon King'. In this third year, the Light Spirit Ordona was grievously wounded, and the tide began to turn in favor of the Darkness despite the efforts of those fighting for the Light. And Hylia wept, and pleaded to Her divine Mothers for safety and aid, for Her children if not for Herself. It was at this time that a great red bird descended from the Distant Nebula, sent by the Golden Goddesses to aid Their Daughter in Her time of need.


	5. Hylia's Children

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter IV: Hylia's Children

Now it came about that after Her travels, young Hylia returned to Her home in the mountain—peaks seeking solace. In Her loneliness and grief, She took the swords that She had crafted and breathed life into them, and She called them Her children, Oneghi the son of fire and Ashefi the daughter of light. Now Hylia’s children, for all that they were born in the same manner from the same materials, were as different from one another as the day from the night.

Oneghi, the firstborn and the spirit of Hylia’s own sword, was most certainly the day between them. He was a happy boy who delighted in play, chasing his sister around and being chased in turn, playing at fighting with sticks for swords and leaves for shields and acorns for ballista, dancing together with Ashefi and singing duets. Every night before Hylia tucked them in and wished them good dreams, he would sing sweet lullabies to his sister of lands far away, and use his fledgling magic to make stars dance across the ceiling. And he would smile at her and press a kiss to her forehead and vow to protect her always, as elder brothers ought to do for younger sisters. And he found a great delight in the people of the desert—humans, for Gerudo did not yet exist, though already their women were esteemed warriors—and he began to dress in their style, and to watch and imitate their training and conditioning, and to teach himself their language. He was bright and loyal and stubborn, and loud and impossible to miss when he put his mind to some task.

Now young Ashefi, the second—born and the spirit of the blade that awaited Hylia’s partner, was the night to her brother’s day. She was calm and graceful, and while she would engage in silly games with Oneghi, she would always wait for him to initiate them. She was as active as her brother, but she preferred to dance rather than run amok, and her songs were more often ballads and tales than cheery ditties. While Oneghi’s eye was drawn to the desert, her own gaze wandered more to those who dwelled by the sea, with their subtle grace and stately demeanor. And where her brother ran and fought and mimicked the training of the desert folk, she sat quietly and observed the world around her, or hid her face behind a book she had not yet read.

And both of Hylia’s children brought their divine Mother great joy and delight with their unique ways and demeanors, and She cherished them greatly and counted their childhood amongst the happiest days of Her life.


	6. Hylia's Fall and the Ascension of the Demon King

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter V: Hylia's Fall and the Ascension of the Demon King

Now in these early days of the tenth year of the war, in one skirmish the attention of Hylia's companion the great red bird came to falter, and Hylia was struck by a demon's blade and wounded gravely. And Hylia's children were great and mighty in their wroth, but their focus was by necessity directed towards removing their divine Mother from the battlefield and returning Her to their home in the mountain-peaks that She may heal.

But Hylia's recovery was a slow and drawn-out process, for the wound that had been dealt to Her was the work of a truly wicked and twisted blade, the darkness of which seeped into Her wound and inhibited Her healing. This slowed recovery held young Hylia and Her children away from the battlefield for nearly two years—and in this time, their foe grew stronger than ever before for one simple reason.

When young Hylia had been injured, She had been struck by a blade, and Her divine blood had been spilled onto the ground. And some of this spilled blood had been gathered by the demon who had wounded Her and delivered to the Demon King Demise, and the Demon King's delight was a terrible thing, a malicious glee that corrupted all that was near.

And an idea to use the blood entered the mind of the Demon King, though it was not of his own devising, and he partook of the divine blood of Hylia, forcibly spilled, and used it to work a magic over himself; he surrendered his powers as the Dark Spirit and forced his nature to become that which he had consumed, a divinity equal in power and station to young Hylia Herself, and though unknowing bound himself to the same rules and restrictions as She. And in this way the war became endless, a clash of ideals and desires as much as a clash of armies and blades.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might actually win the award for shortest chapter :| I guess I just didn't have all that much to say on the subject? Maybe I'll revise it later and come up with something more to add, but for now this is all I got.


	7. The Balance of Light and Dark

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter VI: The Balance of Light and Dark

Now this chapter does not tell a tale widely known, nor even an obscure one, but rather exists to explain the workings behind the scenes of the Demon King’s ascension, and to illuminate its connections with the tale of the Shadow of the Hero. To understand how these tales are connected, one must first know that there is a balance between the Light and the Dark—there must always be balance, or Order ceases to be and Chaos reigns once again.

Now when Hylia was created, the Balance was not a thing that concerned Her—She did not act on either side of the scale. She was neither Light nor Dark, though in manner She was more predisposed towards the Light. She merely kept to Her home and observed. But when the man held the triangle of Din in his hands and made a wish, as seen in _The Creation of the World and the Descent into Darkness,_ the Balance was broken and Darkness grew stronger than Light. And Hylia loved this land too much to allow this Imbalance to stand, thus She stepped forward as a shining figure of Light.

But while Hylia’s actions corrected the initial Imbalance, Her Light was greater by far than even the Demon King’s Darkness, and the Imbalance of the world persisted. And Hylia conspired with Her Divine Mothers the Golden Goddesses to fix this mistake, and Farore arranged for the great red bird’s distraction at the precise moment that would permit Hylia’s grievous wound. And Nayru planted the idea in the Demon King’s mind to ascend and become a divinity equal in power to young Hylia Herself, and Din supplied power to the magics that the Demon King worked and aided in his ascension.

And in this manner the Demon King Demise was made equal in power to young Hylia Herself, and Her overcorrection was fixed. But still Imbalance persisted, for now there remained Light Spirits, but with no Dark Spirits to match them. And the Golden Goddesses intervened on the behalf of the land that They had created, the land that They loved, for young Hylia had made Her move and unbalanced Herself, and could no longer move with impunity to correct this error.

And the Golden Goddesses created a new Dark Spirit—only one, for the power of the Dark had been united in one soul and could not be separated again—to take the place of the former Dark Spirit Mekra, who called his name the Demon King Demise. For this endeavor, They plucked an ember, glowing fiercely with heat and love, from the forge where young Hylia had fashioned the forms of Oneghi and Ashefi and swathed it in the deepest shadows swept from the caverns beneath the earth and the trenches of the ocean floor, and molded it into the form of a boy, though his shape would be fluid enough that he could alter it at will.

And the Divine Three breathed life into him, and They gave this new Dark Spirit into the hands of the Light Spirits to raise and guide and temper the raging Dark with the essence of love that burned in his soul. And in this manner he came to embody the innocent darkness—that Darkness which had not been tainted with evil and corruption. In this manner was the Balance tilted and corrected through the history of the land of Hyrule.


	8. Hylia's Partner

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter VII: Hylia's Partner

One day, in the midst of battle, the great red bird's attention waivered, and Hylia was gravely injured, as was written in _Hylia's Fall and the Ascension of the Demon King._ And in the face of the wroth of Her children, Oneghi and Ashefi, the great bird's words were as such: "My partner, for whom I have waited all of these years, has been born!" And the great bird mourned Hylia's injury, and that his own distraction had caused it so surely, but he could not mourn the knowledge of his partner. And the great bird brought Hylia and Her children back to their home in the mountain-peaks that Hylia may heal.

And after Her recovery, Hylia—accompanied by Her children Oneghi and Ashefi, and by the great red bird—sought for the bird's partner, for Her heart was certain that the great bird's partner was meant also to be the master of Ashefi's blade and the one who would fight by Her side forever. But they could not search unceasingly, for the Demon King's power still needed to be fought, so they looked when and where they were able.

For nineteen years they searched, pausing only to fight against the Darkness when its countenance appeared before them. And then, one dim and cloudy afternoon, the great bird descended upon a settlement of humans, only to be attacked. And Hylia took it upon herself to soothe the bird, for She could feel the disgust creeping over his feathers, and She knew he wanted no part of a partner who would raise his hand to him or to Her.

The great red bird was adamant that his partner would not be found here, and he spoke harshly to the humans and called for Hylia to leave. And one of the humans stepped forward to challenge him, claiming the townsfolk had been assaulted at random by the Demon King's forces for years and they had no way of telling the strangers were not more of the same, and Hylia and the bird looked at each other and they knew that he was the one. And the great bird saw a fierce, protective love in the man that resonated with him, and in his heart of hearts he accepted the man as his partner and rejoiced.

And Ashefi, from her place on Hylia's back, trembled at the feel of her master's presence so near, and Hylia smiled. And Hylia extended Her arm towards the man, and She spoke. "Will you fight beside Me?"

And the man smiled wickedly, and he took Her calloused hand, and She pulled pulled him up onto the back of the great red bird and they took to the skies. And on the back of the great bird, surrounded by the heavens, Hylia gave to Her partner the blade which She had crafted for him with Her own two hands, the blade which housed the spirit of Ashefi. And soon after the Divine Three sent a second great bird, with feathers of a deep and soothing blue, to carry Hylia as the red bird carried Her partner.


	9. The Fall of Oneghi and Hylia's Capture

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter VIII: The Fall of Oneghi and Hylia's Capture

Now Hylia and Her partner were separated in the midst of battle, and Her companion bird, though she fought valiantly, was injured and forced away, up into the sky where she could not aid her partner. And young Hylia was overwhelmed by the horde, despite Her skill, and Oneghi's blade was forced from Her hand and She was unable to reclaim it. And Oneghi retreated within his blade, and his mind cried out for Hers, and Hylia screamed and fought like a wild beast in Her effort to reach him. And though the horde fled, Hylia would not be dissuaded from Her pursuit of them until Her daughter Ashefi spoke, reminding Her that Her companion the great blue bird was injured, and it was Her responsibility to see to her.

And Hylia wept for Her lost child, but turned Her eyes to Her companion bird to see to her wounds. And from that day, Hylia's spirit was troubled, and even Her home amongst the mountain-peaks could not bring Her peace, and Her heart wept for Oneghi. And She took up a new blade—a dull and lifeless thing that could not guard Her back and reminded Her in every moment that Oneghi Her son was gone—and She fought with a fury unending in Her search for Her child; never had She resembled Her divine Mother Din than in those days.

But young Oneghi, trapped beneath the ground in the home of the Demon King, knew none of this. And he hid inside his blade and he wept, his mind ever reaching out to his Mother, but he could not reach Her. And if those demons around him should dare to try and take up his blade, to lay their blackened hands upon his gleaming white hilt, he would lash out in his fury and leave them with burns as dark as their hearts that may never heal.

At this time, the Demon King arrived at his home from the battlefield, having heard tell that his soldiers had captured a great and powerful blade. And Demise, upon seeing the blade, knew that a soul resided within it, and he craved its power. But when he tried to take it into his hands, it burned him, and it was then that Demise knew that he would have need to be patient and subtle if he wished for the proud spirit of the blade to bow to his will.

And from this time, Demise made certain to stop in the room where the blade was kept once each day after the sunset, and he would speak of young Hylia’s movements. But though only the truth passed his lips—for he was certain the spirit would sense a falsehood—the words were twisted and tainted, and Demise used these tales to paint Hylia in a dark light, and portray Her as one with no care for Her lost child; he spoke of Her as considering only the next battle.

And while at first Oneghi did not listen—did not _believe—_ with each day that passed wherein his Mother did not appear to save him his strength was exhausted and his resolve weakened. And in time, Oneghi’s mind fell prey to the lies of the Demon King, and he came to believe that he had been abandoned by his Mother Hylia, his sister Ashefi, and the Hero who was Hylia’s partner. And the Demon King, ever the master of smooth words, coaxed Oneghi into letting him take up his blade, and Oneghi consented, and the Demon King took him into his hands and bore him upon his back. And after this time, when the Demon King went to battle, he carried with him the beautiful sword that had been forged by Hylia’s own divine hands.

And Oneghi’s white sheen, which had slowly become gray beneath the words of the Demon King, deepened and darkened beneath the innocent blood that stained his blade until his form was a black so deep it swallowed all light and did not even permit for a gleam to reflect. And the Demon King, rejoicing in his corruption of the sword spirit, bade him come out from his blade; and Oneghi was by this time so tired and hopeless and familiar with compliance that he obeyed, and the Demon King smiled upon him and called his name Ghirahim, the son of darkness, and the sword spirit, trembling, fell to his knees—in truth, too exhausted to stand—and bowed his head and called Demise’s address _Master._

And Hylia, still mourning Her lost son and seeking him amongst the strongholds of the Demon King, began to hear whispers that the Demon King now came to battle bearing a great and powerful blade, and Her heart ached. And She sought Demise more fervently at this time than ever before, and every moment She did not find him, Her sorrow and fury grew ever stronger. And when She faced the Demon King Demise, Her heart was shattered. She at once recognized and did not recognize the blade in his hand—Her Oneghi’s beautiful blade, so tainted and corrupted!—and the figure standing obediently a pace behind, his long hair cut short, no longer gleaming in the light, the clothes that he loved discarded for ones that marked him clearly as a jewel of the Demon King’s court, a prize to show off.

And Hylia’s heart knew Her poor lost Oneghi, however different he looked, and Her mind reached out to his, and was shut out. And he obeyed the command of Demise, who called his name Ghirahim, the son of darkness, and Hylia wept and did not fight, for She would not harm Her child, and She surrendered into the hands of Her lost son and became the prisoner of Demise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a long chapter this time. What can I say, I have Emotions re: Oneghi's transformation into Ghirahim. (100% headcanon, but a headcanon I refuse to let go of.)


	10. The Ascension of Skyloft and the Hero's Promise

Volume I: The Early Ages

Chapter IX: The Ascension of Skyloft and the Hero's Promise

Now Hylia's partner was not so weary in spirit, and when he heard of Her capture a fury like he had never before felt burned within his breast. And in his wroth, he would not be turned from his purpose; with Ashefi's blade in hand he stormed the keep of the Demon King and challenged Demise—and lost. Though their battle was long and bloody, it was Ghirahim's blade that struck a mortal blow upon his Mother's partner from the hand of the Demon King.

When young Hylia saw Her partner's injury the haze of despair was lifted from Her eyes, and once again cloaked in Her full might She stole away Her partner and the blade which housed Ashefi. And Hylia gave Her golden gift into the keeping of a small group of humans, and with a swing of Ashefi's blade She rent the ground and lifted their home from the surface to hang as an isle in the sky. And Hylia hid away Ashefi's blade on the isle, for her master could no longer wield her blade, and She called the isle Skyloft.

And young Hylia knelt by Her dear partner, and clutched him in Her arms and whispered to him, offering him a choice. And he laughed, and he chose to stay with Her forever. And there, held tight in young Hylia's arms as though to keep him from all harm, Her beloved partner drew his last breath, and She wept. And Hylia swore that She would shed Her divinity to stand beside Her partner as his equal when next evil rose and they were reborn.

And young Hylia, lost and hurting, separated from Her partner and Her dear children, with nothing left to lose, fought on alone against the Demon King with all of the wrath of Her Mother Din, the cunning of Her Mother Nayru, and the unending determination of Her Mother Farore. And young Hylia struck down Demise and sealed him away, and when the deed was done, Her will crumbled.

And She shed Her divinity and flung Her soul into the cycle of mortal rebirth, and tied Her soul to that of Her partner, so that if one was reborn the other would soon follow.


End file.
